Ayurveda / Mind Body Medicine

Ayurveda / Mind Body Medicine: Ayurveda is a form of Indian folk medicine that has been practiced for at least two thousand years. It was first promoted in the United States by disciples of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ("Deepak Chopra and Maharishi Ayurvedic Medicine," ).

Ayurvedic medicine is essentially, to use Chopra's term, "mind body medicine." This form of medicine "offers new possibilities for promoting and improving health through natural approaches that stimulate our body's intrinsic healing system" ("Mind Body Medicine," ). Ayurvedic practitioners engage in meditation techniques, balanced nutrition, yoga, and exercise to enhance their health and reduce stress (Ibid.).

A statement made by Triguna at the end of his first meeting with Chopra had a profound impact on Chopra's later ideology: "Ayurveda is very clear about the goal of life. It is to be happy and to receive wise and happy thoughts from every part of the universe" (Return of the Rishi, p. 110). Chopra restated the principle: "You are what you think" (Creating Health, p. 92). The purpose of ayurveda is to attain balance between mind, body, and environment; Chopra writes, "Ayurveda takes the vista of man to be infinite. The universe is the macrocosm, man is the microcosm" (Return of the Rishi, p. 113).

Simply stated, the universe consists of a single energy or consciousness; this energy is the "field of all possibilities" (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, p. 9). Chopra also refers to this field as the "quantum soup." This energy field, which is endlessly creative and positive, is the source for all existing beings (including humans). When humans are completely open to the "flow" of this energy field, they will be happy and healthy. They become unhappy and unhealthy, and age more poorly, when they block this flow (Creating Health, p. 102). The practices of ayurveda are intended to lower a person's resistance to the flow of the universal energy field.

Chopra correctly points out that the medical community does not widely accept ayurvedic medicine. Because his medical practices are "experimental," the Chopra Center for Well Being is not a licensed medical care facility, and ayurvedic treatment is not covered by most insurance programs ("Frequently Asked Questions," http://www.chopra.com/ccwbfaq.htm). Instead of healing his clients from their diseases, Chopra focuses on "self-empowering knowledge and experience of the achievement of balance" (Ibid.).
Source: Profile: Deepak Chopra by Jason Barker, Watchman Fellowship


More informations here:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/ayurvedic/ayurvedic.htm
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/education/education.htm